It is well known in the prior art to connect a brush structure containing bristles to an extendable handle. Typically, such brushes may be used for cleaning or scrubbing a surface which would be too remote or difficult to reach if the brush was merely held in the user's hand. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,755 to Alissandratos discloses a brush having a molded head including bristles and a handle holder, wherein the handle is made of two pieces, one of which slips into the other for securing the handle in a retracted or extended position. Similarly, it is well known to place an extendable telescoping handle on a broom, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,029,455 issued to Siculan.
Likewise, the prior art contemplates a brush or sponge assembly being mounted on an extendable handle for the purpose of applying a cleaning liquid and the brush's scrubbing action to a remote location. An example of a sponge assembly mounted on a telescoping handle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,524,484 issued to Graham, wherein a window washing sponge is mounted on an extendable handle and is saturated with a cleaning solution by being submerged in the solution located at a remote source to allow the sponge to absorb the same.
Further, the prior art also contemplates liquid dispensing brushes or sponges mounted on extendable handles having self-contained fluid reservoirs. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,641,012 issued to Storrs discloses a bathing scrub brush having soap reservoirs fluidly connected to external bristles to dispense soap during brushing action, and having an extendable handle so that the brush may be applied to the human body to remote locations, such as the back. This type of prior art brush suffers the disadvantage of being unable to dispense its selfcontained fluid in a controlled and uniform manner, and has no regulating means to prohibit the flow of fluid when the instrument is not in use.
The prior art also contemplates a sponge device having an nonextendable handle and a fluid reservoir fluidly connected to the sponge to assure constant saturation of the sponge by the fluid. An example of this type of device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,415,288 to Gordon, et al., which teaches a hospital surgical scrub having a fluid cartridge located in the scrub's handle which is ruptured by insertion into the handle to a predetermined degree, and has means to allow passage of the cartridge's fluid into a sponge to allow a semicontrolled and uniform application of the fluid by contacting the sponge with a body surface. These types of devices also suffer the disadvantage of having no means to regulate the flow of fluid into the dispensing sponge.
The prior art further contemplates an aerosol spray device wherein the fluid to be applied to a surface is contained in the device's handle and is to applied to a surface by a pumping action applied to the handle. Examples of these types of devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Re. 29,639 issued to Dearling. While these types of devices contemplate the use of a control means to regulate the flow of the self-contained fluid, they suffer the disadvantage of being unable to deliver predetermined amounts of the fluid in a uniform pattern over a surface.
Consequently, a need exists in the art for a means to apply a fluid on a surface in a regulated and uniform pattern by direct application without the use of an aerosol spray or heavy bristle. A further need exists for a fluid applicator having a selfcontained fluid reservoir from which fluid can pass in a predetermined amount and which has a means to throttle or prohibit fluid flow. Yet a further need exists in the art for a fluid applicator having an extendable handle to reach remote areas of the human body allowing an application of a uniform predetermined amount of fluid. Yet a further need exists for a fluid applicator having a means to direct fluid flow from the applicator to a discrete predetermined location.